DayofPal– Baby girl Jenan Skafi died of malnutrition and dehydration in the Rantisi Hospital, west of Gaza City, as Israel’s blockade on the Palestinian enclave has now entered its third month.
Since the start of the genocide in October 2023, 57 people have died from malnutrition in Gaza, the majority were children, according to Government Media Office on Saturday.
Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s main crossings, halting the flow of food, medical aid, and other humanitarian supplies. This blockade has caused a severe and unprecedented decline in living conditions, with human rights organizations accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against the Gaza population.
On March 18,, Israel resumed its genocide in Gaza after breaching the ceasefire agreement signed in January, killing over 2,200 Palestinians and wounding more than 5,700—mostly children and women, according the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned of humanitarian catastrophe as the enclave is on the brink of “full-scale famine conditions.”
On Friday, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for the Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said the Israeli siege is collectively punishing children, women, older people and men in Gaza.
The UN’s World Food Programme said last week that its food supplies had been “depleted” amid the siege, warning that community kitchens upon which thousands of Palestinians rely would be forced to close.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians of all ages are experiencing high levels of food insecurity in Gaza, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, a global hunger watchdog.
Children in the enclave have not only faced relentless bombardment, but are also being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement on Friday.
“With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death – nothing can justify this,” Russell said. “The sea they used for fishing has been restricted. Bakeries are closing, water production is declining, and market shelves are almost bare.”
In the past month, she said, families have been forced to choose between showering, cleaning, and cooking as access to water is quickly deteriorating.
Vaccines are also running out, Russell warned, and diseases are spreading rapidly.
“Malnutrition is also on the rise,” she said, adding that more than 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment of acute malnutrition since the beginning of the year.
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